Abdominals 101: What You Need to Know About Your Ab Muscles
Are you taking up a core fitness class? If not then this article is for you. Abdominal exercises are usually discussed at the end of a fitness class, and it mainly features the crunches as the focal point of every ab routine. The lower abs are not often given much attention, but they too have to be trained in order to promote a better figure. But what do you really have to know about your abdominals before undergoing workout?
First, you should know that the abdominal area is made up of four muscle groups. Yes, you may have heard of the upper and lower abs, but they do not consist of those groups-they actually belong to just one group. The real ab muscle groups include:
- Rectus Abdominis- known as the “six-pack,” this group begins at the rib cage and ends at the pubic bone. They consist of the upper and lower abs, and during your ab exercises, this is the group that you target to train. The Rectus Abdominis helps support bending and movement of the spine.
- External Obliques and Internal Obliques- these groups meanwhile work together. The external obliques go from the side of the rib cage and reaches down to the hip bone, while the internal obliques are found at the bottom of the rib cage going down to the pubic bone. Their main function, when working together, is to allow you to twist and lean.
- Tansverse Abdominus- the muscles found in this group meanwhile are located beneath all the other abdominal muscle groups. They are very deep and are difficult to train using the typical crunches. They consist of the real “core”. What they do is to keep your core and spine intact. They prevent injury when you have to lift heavy items or do strenuous exercises involving the “core”.
Now you know what the groups of abdominal muscles are, then it would be easier for you to pick your exercises to train and give your abs a better shape. Since you do not go to gym class, knowing these groups can help you gain a better understanding of the core exercises you find on gym books, websites or articles, and see in which parts of the abdomen should you target when doing your routine.
The best kind of abdominal muscle routine consists of exercises that target these four groups. Most ab exercises only focus on the rectus abdominis, thus you only see your upper and lower abs into action, while allowing your other ab muscles slack. This should not be the case since the “core” muscles will lose their strength, and can lead you to acquiring pain and injury easily while on the course of these exercises.
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